1. Pick the right pasta among the many shapes and sizes, realizing that a single shape doesn’t suit every dish. Thin, smooth noodles need light, smooth sauces; and heavier noodles, heavier sauces. Flat ribbons hold cheese and cream sauces; and curls, shells and tubes, chunky sauces with bits of meat and vegetables.

2. Always use a big, deep pot with plenty of water. Everything needs room to reach its full potential.

3. Pay attention to the temperature. Bring water to a boil most efficiently by covering it while it is heated. Don’t cover the pot, however, while the pasta is cooked — or risk having the pot boil over.

4. Salt the water just before adding the pasta. Salt added to the cooking water flavors the pasta better than does salt added later because the swelling pasta absorbs the salt. If the cooking water isn’t salted, more salt is required later.

5. Keep the pasta stirred at the start. Everything gets stuck without a little agitation.

6. Don’t add oil. Pasta stays unattached if cooked in plenty of water at a full boil and stirred at the beginning. Besides, oil keeps sauce from clinging to the pasta.

7. When you drain the pasta, save some of the cooking water. A splash or two of starchy cooking water magically pulls a sauce together. (A tip: Put a heat-proof serving bowl in the sink and drain some of the pasta water into it as you drain the pot. Use the water as needed; then empty the bowl and add the pasta and sauce to the warm bowl.)

8. Never rinse pasta. The clinging starch helps the pasta hold the sauce.

10. Merge the ingredients. Cook the pasta until almost but not quite done; then drain it and add it to the sauce. Add a splash of cooking water. Stir everything and cook it for a couple of minutes longer. Add anything you need to finish the dish — such as cheese or fresh herbs — and serve the meal.